South Korea to bolster island drive against Pyongyang

South Korea is to strengthen its army power on five islands close to North Korea, amid tensions over a clash that left four folks useless.

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It'll also evaluation army policy on the use of power, amid worries it had come to be "rather passive".

North Korean shelling of a South Korean island on Tuesday killed two civilians and two marines, and prompted a rise in regional pressure.

China, which has not apportioned blame, urged each side to show "restraint".

North Korea, meanwhile, has threatened additional army action if South Korea continues on what it known as a "path of army provocation", the North's official KCNA information agency reported.

Pyongyang has blamed Seoul for this week's incident on Yeonpyeong island. The South was holding army workout routines from the place at the time, and returned artillery fireplace subsequent the North Korean shelling.

The North also accused the united states of stoking tensions - declaring the US assisted draw up the "illegal" western maritime border involving the two Koreas.

About 28,000 US forces are stationed in South Korea.
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The clash was one particular of your worst incidents involving the two Koreas, who remain technically at war subsequent the 1950-53 Korean War.

The shelling set alight numerous houses on a South Korean island quite close for the disputed western maritime border, killed four folks and injured quite a few additional.

Immediately after holding an emergency cabinet assembly, South Korea introduced it could dramatically enhance its army ability from the place.

"[The government] has decided to sharply enhance army power, including ground troops, on the five islands from the Yellow Sea and allocate additional of its price range in the direction of coping with North Korea's asymmetrical threats," the presidential senior public affairs secretary, Hong Sang-pyo, told reporters.

He explained the government had also decided to produce new guidelines of engagement "to modify the paradigm itself of responding to North Korea's provocation", describing the current guidelines as "rather passive".

The BBC's Chris Hogg says the cabinet had decided that from the current guidelines of engagement there was an excessive amount of emphasis on stopping a army incident escalating into some thing worse.

There's now an awareness that this considering had to modify, our correspondent says.

In long run the South would implement distinctive ranges of response according to no matter if the North Koreans attacked the army from the South or civilian targets, the spokesman explained.

The US and South Korea are to carry joint naval workout routines from the coming days south of Yeonpyeong island.

A foreign ministry spokesman in Seoul explained the resolution had been made through a telephone conversation involving US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan on Thursday.

"We agreed that as a result of the drill, we will have the ability to ship a clear message for the North," the spokesman explained.